The Highest Grossing Horror Films of 2009 - A Retrospective

I did this last year, so I decided to do it again... Let's take a look at all the horror that came out theatrically last year, see how they ranked against everything else that came out and try to figure out if this tells us anything. If you want to look at last years list where we looked at all the films that came out in 2008, you can click here. If you're more interested in 2009, read on...

Before I get into it, yeah... some of these films would not be considered 'true horror' to some fans; films like "Twilight" or "Knowing", but I'm putting them in here because they're close enough and when it comes to theatrical releases, us horror fans should take what we can get. Cool? Having cleared the air there, I do think this was a good year for theatrical horror and, as I peruse this list, there's a few key interesting things that you can take away. Before we get to that, here's the list of all the horror movies that came out theatrically in 2009 and how they ranked, overall, domestically.

#5 - The Twilight Saga: New Moon
#27 - District 9
#29 - Paranormal Activity
#37 - Knowing
#40 - Zombieland
#48 - The Final Destination
#50 - Friday the 13th
#56 - The Haunting in Connecticut
#60 - My Bloody Valentine 3D
#64 - Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
#69 - The Unborn
#70 - Drag Me To Hell
#71 - Orphan
#80 - Halloween II
#82 - The Last House on the Left
#91 - The Stepfather
#93 - Saw VI
#97 - The Fourth Kind
#114 - Jenifer's Body
#121 - The Box
#132 - Sorority Row
#135 - Pandorum
#136 - Whiteout
#147 - The Collector

The first key thing to notice is the uptrend in the amount of titles. There's around 5 or 6 more horror films cracking the top 150 and that just simply means that they're making more horror films. I think there were only 18 or 19 titles last year, this year there's 24. That's a good thing. Truth is, horror is a money maker for Hollywood. Low budgets, built in audiences, good returns. Hopefully this trend continues...

The next thing that I noticed is the ratio of "sequels, remakes and adaptations" to original films. In 2008, almost 75% of the horror films would be classified as either a sequel, remake or adaptation. This year, it's closer to 50%. That's still a lot higher than I'd like to see, but it's a step in the right direction. It's definitely a good thing to see for us screenwriters who have original ideas. If you look at the top 25 films, overall, almost all of them are sequels, remakes or adaptations... the exceptions would be "The Hangover", "The Blind Side", a few star driven comedies and some animated films. So, if you're in to writing spec scripts, horror's a pretty good genre to be in...

The last thing of note is that a lot of the top spots in horror are taken by films that had relatively low budgets. Even after you take "Paranormal Activity" out, "Zombieland", "District 9", "Drag Me To Hell", "Friday the 13th" and various others had budgets that range from $20Million to $30Million. Considering their grosses, that's pretty cheap. Horror continues to be the land of low budgets and decent returns. All in all, a good place to be...

In conclusion, it's tough to look at just one year versus another, but I think it's safe to say that 2009 was a far better year for horror than 2008. Now, looking forward to 2010, hopefully we can keep the ball rolling. Taking a brief look at the release schedule, here's looking forward to: "Daybreakers", "Legion", "The Wolfman", "The Crazies", "Piranha 3D" (What?!?!), "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Predators", "Priest", "Saw VII 3D" and whatever else happens to come our way.

A Look Back At The 2008 Box Office For Horror

I can't believe it's New Years Eve, where did this year go? Oh yeah... down the shitter. Well, I'm assuming that most of you are sleeping in, so you can get some rest prior to getting your drink on tonight to try and forget about all the bad shit that's happened this past year. However, I'm up because I have to go to work for a while. In any case, I thought it would be a good time to look back at the 2008 Box Office and see how horror did...

Let's warm up with a few obvious things. Such as, it's fairly safe to say that "The Dark Knight" was the film of the year. However, "Iron Man" was a close second in the Box Office and, some say, a better film. Personally, I'm torn, I thought they were both pretty good. Third place goes to "Indiana Jones", which sucked... Then "Hancock" and "WALL-E", to round out the top 5 at the Box Office. Of useless note, "Kung Fu Panda" was right behind "WALL-E" and is considered to be the animated movie of the year, but whatever. Let's talk about horror.

The first horror film comes in at number 8, and that's "Twilight". Even though I don't really consider it a horror, per se... it is about vampires. After that, it's a big, big step down. Unless, of course, you count number 20, which is "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor". Which is, once again, barely horror, but it is about a mummy.

The first film that I would actually consider to be horror related comes in at number 32... and that's "Cloverfield". Here's how the rest of them fared. I've ranked them by their overall standing in Box Office numbers.

Number 34... "Hellboy II: Golden Army"
Number 41... "The Happening"
Number 47... "Saw V"
Number 49... "The Strangers"
Number 59... "Prom Night"
Number 84... "Quarantine"
Number 90... "Mirrors"
Number 94... "Untraceable"
Number 96... "One Missed Call"
Number 99... "Shutter"
Number 113... "The Ruins"
Number 121... "The Haunting of Molly Hartley"
Number 133... "Doomsday"
Number 144... "Punisher: War Zone"

I may have left a few out, some by accident and some because they didn't make the list. I'm just going down the list of top 150 grossing films of 2008 on BoxOfficeMojo.com, so blame them if you think I've made a glaring mistake. For interests sake, number 150 grossed a mere $7.5Million, while "The Dark Knight" grossed over $530Million.

So, what can we take from all this? First off, this was clearly not a banner year for theatrical horror films. "Twilight" was a PG-13 rated film, based off a novel that's clearly geared towards a younger demographic. The third "Mummy" film, also PG-13, was another film that was clearly more family oriented, which brings us to "Cloverfield", coming in at 32nd overall and, yet again, also PG-13. "Cloverfield" came out to mixed reviews and probably doesn't have the 'stickiness' to garner a sequel or even get cult status, which a lot of people thought it would. I was hyped about it, then had all but forgotten about it before I saw it on this list. Really, the first horror film comes in at number 47 overall, with "Saw V", followed by a string of films that are unmistakably horror. There are a few good films in there, including "The Strangers" and "The Ruins", but all and all, nothing to write home about.

At the end of the day, the theatrical trend towards big-budget family fare is continuing and I don't see it stopping. Further, the straight-to-DVD and VOD markets are growing, but we haven't seen what is referred to as 'the tipping point', yet. I don't think it'll tip in 2009, either. There's a few big, edgier films to come out in '09, such as "The Wolf Man", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "Star Trek XI", "Terminator Salvation" and "Transformers 2". All of which will be PG-13, I'm sure... but could appeal to the R-rated audience and curb them from hunting for films elsewhere. What could be interesting is if the new "Friday the 13th" does really well. If it does, you could see a new rise in the theatrical slasher films, which would be nice...

As for the straight-to-DVD, VOD and streaming market, I think you'll see it grow, but not gain critical mass. I expect the 'tip' to occur in or around 2010. VOD is really in its infancy and most homes don't have the hardware to support it. Watch for big moves in the gaming console markets, as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo push to own the living room. All of them go online now and the PS3 and XBox 360 currently download and stream content. They're currently only delivering mainstream fare, but I think they'll figure out how to tap into the 'long tail' and deliver niche content... once they do that, watch for them to 'tip' and become media centers, as opposed to video game consoles.

So, for various reasons, 2008 is a year that a lot of people want to forget. Further, a lot of people are being pessimistic about 2009, already. I'm not one of those people. After a slow start, I think 2009 is going to be a great year and I'm looking forward to it. In fact, tonight, I'm going to be celebrating what's about to come, as opposed to what we just went through. Because of that, I may be just a bit too hungover to post anything tomorrow, but I'll be back on Friday. Then, come Monday, we'll be back in full force and ready to kick some ass in 2009.

Until then... good drinking, my friends and I'll see you in 2009!

2009's Slate of Horror Films - What To Look Forward To and What To Look Forward To Not Looking Forward To.

I haven't actually done any looking back at 2008 yet, but I am willing to look forward to 2009 at this point... I thought it might be interesting to look at what's slated to hit the theaters, horror-wise, this year. Obviously, there's a few big, notable releases, such as the remake of "Friday the 13th" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell". The poster for "Friday the 13th" could be the high point on that flick... my hopes are a lot higher for Raimi's return to his low-budget horror roots with "Drag Me to Hell". Now, keep in mind, this is just what's slated at this time and it can change at any time. Also, there's bound to be plenty added and some taken away.

January has a couple of notable films coming out, the first being "Slaughter", which is the first film to be developed from the Slamdance Screenplay competition... "Slaughter" is about a young actress who discovers that her and her co-stars have been cast in a Japanese snuff film. On a similar note, "Perkins' 14", which also comes out in January, was the result of the online film colloboration, Massify.com. The latter is going to be part of the After Dark Films Horrorfest lineup, which also includes "Autopsy", "The Broken", "Dying Breed", "Butterfly Effect: Revelation" and "From Within". As for Hollywood released films, you'll get "The Unborn" with Gary Oldman... a PG-13 horror from Platinum Dunes (sweet!). The remake of "My Bloody Valentine" (even better!) also comes out and so does "The Uninvited", which is a British film, based on a Korean film, which is also going to be remade in the U.S. in 2010 (I'm speechless).

February, of course, holds the date for the new "Friday the 13th", which is scheduled to come out on, of course, Friday, February 13th. "Jason was my son... and today is his birthday."

March holds the date for "Knowing", directed by Alex Proyas ("Dark City", "The Crow") and starring Nic Cage. This has been in talks for a while and is finally coming out... it's about a professor that unearths a time capsule depicting the dates of the assassinations of historical figures, the hotel fire death of his wife and the imminent world apocalypse... he then attempts to stop these incidents from occuring.

A bit of a break for anything scheduled until May, when Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" finally comes out, which is about an L.A. loan officer who has a powerful curse unleased on her by a mysterious woman... after she denies her an extension on her home loan. How fitting for these times...

Then, July has "Orphan" and a remake of "Piranha" from "High Tension", "Hills Have Eyes" director Alexandre Aja.

August has "Final Destination 4"... 'nough said.

September brings you "The Crazies", directed by Michael Eisner's kid, Breck Eisner, and it's the remake of the 1972 Romero film that... well, never really caught on. The original is actually pretty good, though. If you haven't checked it out, you should.

October brings you "Sorority Row", a remake of "The Stepfather", "Saw VI" and "Zombieland", which stars Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg and is about the most frightened guy on Earth, who leads a motley crew of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.

Finally, November will bring you "The Box" and the much anticipated "The Wolfman", starring Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins.

So, to me, it looks like a lot of the same old PG-13 horror stuff that Hollywood's been pumping out for a while now, plus a few established sequels and franchise movies, then one or two to look forward to. The best stuff could definitely be going straight to DVD and, in that case, you'll just have to keep reading Dead Harvey every Monday, so we can tell you about the new movies of the week!